AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by SouthState Corp

SouthState Corp decreased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,351,653,000 after acquiring an additional 358,399 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,295 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $715,198,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,361,000 after purchasing an additional 233,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,294,000 after purchasing an additional 201,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $75.80. 8,234,631 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,314,521. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $76.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $67.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AZN. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.